MurderEducationRomanceCurse etc
by Seline the Desert Queen
Summary: I an alternate universe, The League meet in college and experince joy and sadness, love and hate, and other experiences which would transform them from average Joes to extraordinary Individuals.
1. Prologue

**Hello all! This is my first ever Fic, the prologue to this one was originaly written by Saint Apthy and titled UXG, but he decided to scrap it and focus on his ither uncompleted fic so he kind of allowed me to do what I wanted with it, and so, here it is. Please review so that I know what you think or who do you want to see get paired. I'm very open to suggestions.**

**The premiss is, the members of the league were not exisiting in the nineteeth century but the early years of the twenty-first, they haven't been reincarnated. And they will experience the angst and stuff that comes with being a full fledged college student in the fictional _Gull_ University, at the same time they will each be exposed to a chain of events that will transform them to creatures of extraordinary natures. ENJOY!**

* * *

Rodney Skinner, a young man of nineteen dressed casually walked out of the Student's Services Department, or kicked out to be precise after making a big fuss about the fact that the department had screwed with his papers and gave away his designated dorm room that he had signed up for several months ago.

He got behind the wheel and started driving through the streets of London, he'd just drove into London all the way from Manchester to start college when he found out about the cock-up, filled with frustration he started contemplating what to do.

He had to get an off campus apartment, it was the only solution. But it would take forever till he found an affordable residence, he could get a roommate, but finding an available compatible roommate in London would take even longer..

He was driving through a relatively empty part of London when he saw a young man of similar age was standing by his car, waving cars for help as they passed.

Seeking a distraction, and perhaps hoping that Karma would reward him for a good deed, he pulled up and got out of the car.

"Hey mate," said Skinner, "Need a hand?"

"Aye, I've got a flat tire and no Jack." said the other man.

"I have one in my boot." said Skinner as he got the jack out the trunk of his car.

"Thanks." said the young man as he changed his tire, "You look familiar, have I seen you before?"

"I don't think so, I'm new here."

"What's your profession?"

"I'm a student, Hill University."

"Me too! I must've seen you around campus."

"Oh, really? What's your major?" asked Skinner.

"Law."

"You're kidding! Me too!"

"Really? I haven't introduced myself, have I?" said the man as he wiped his hand on a cloth and shook Skinner's hand.

"Gabriel Utterson."

"Rodney Skinner, It's a pleasure."

"Why so glum?"

"Oh, the wankers at Student Services screwed me out of a dorm room."

"You should have registered months in advance."

"I did, it's their fault."

"What do you plan on doing?"

"I think I'll be crashing in my car and hope the cops leave me alone."

"Don't you have any relatives in town?"

"No. Well, I've got this cousin, he's a couple of years older than I, he's a physicist, but he's slightly off the rocker."

"Well," said Utterson as tightened the screws of his spare tire, "It's your lucky day, I'm in a band you see, and our front man has just kicked out his roommate and is looking for someone to split the rent with. Are you interested?"

"I don't know..."

"He's a fine bloke, a little bit psychotic, but not really bad once you get to know him. You'd be hard pressed to find a better roomie."

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

"Perfect," said Utterson with a grin as he scribbled an address on a little piece of paper.

"Meet me today at this address, this afternoon at four o'clock sharp, and we'll see if we can fix you up."

* * *

Surely enough, Skinner met Utterson at a Wembley apartment building, after they greeted each other they headed on to the top floor where electric guitar playing could be heard.

"Open up," Utterson yelled as he rang the doorbell, "It's Gabriel, and I've brought a guest."

The guitar playing was cut short followed by footsteps nearing.

"Look, he might be a little cranky so try to be cool."

The heavy wooden door opened up to reveal a tall pale young man with red hair who walked out and joined them both.

"Hey," said the guitarist, "I was just practicing, whose he?"

"I'm..."

"His name is Rodney, he goes to Hill too. I told him about the apartment."

"How come I've never heard of him before?"

"We just met this morning."

"I helped him change a tire." said Skinner.

"So he helps you with a flat and you're ready to toss him at me, you don't even know him!" objected the young man.

"Listen, ol' son. The chap's from Manchester, he's got no where to stay and he's been screwed by students services. And you do need a roommate, plus he has a car." elaborated Utterson.

"I don't need a roommate; I can afford this place just fine, thank you. What I can use is a drummer for our band before our gig."

"Drummer?" asked Skinner.

"Yeah," said Utterson, "Our drummer has went Christian all of a sudden and renounced our music as an instrument of Lucifer, and now were a three man alt-rock band with post-punk and classical influences with no drummer."

"Exactly, goodbye, and welcome to London."

Utterson smiled apologetically at Skinner as he was about to accompany him outside.

"I drum." Skinner said suddenly.

"Do you?" asked the man wryly.

"Yeah, tell you what, I'll audition, if you like what I do, I get to move in."

"And if I don't?"

"Well, then I'll pay half of this month's rent without even living here."

"Skinner," said Utterson as he grabbed Skinner by the arm and took him aside, "This is a bad idea. He has what you would call 'insanely high standards'. He'll take the money and you'll have to sleep in a barrel."

"Don't fret, mate. I'm not!"

The inhospitable guitarist was contemplating the offer, and then said, "Done."

* * *

Skinner and Utterson were allowed in for the first time, it was a spacious apartment with hard wood floors and all the staples of a Bachelor pad, a plasma TV and a stereo system surrounded by shelves choke-filled with CDs, Records, Books and DVDs, Couches slightly stained with onion dip and beer, an autographed guitar mounted on a wall besides come movie posters of foreign films... etc.

At the center near a massive window were a set of drums with an electric guitar nearby.

"Those belonged to Lanyon; I doubt he'll be back for them. Now show me what you can do."

Skinner was slightly nervous, for it's been some time since he last played a set. He assumed his place on the stool with his back to the window and facing the man who would decide if he was going to have a decent roof above his head tonight or not.

He brushed his sweaty palms on the fabric of his trousers, tightly clutched the wooden sticks, gently placed his left foot on the iron pedal, closed his eyes and took a magnanimous breath, then unleash the craziest four minute of improvised drumming, it wasn't the best drumming ever, not the best piece ever, but the best thing ever. It was like something long forgotten and newly explored, Utterson and the Guitarist couldn't help but wonder what had possessed the Manchester man to play like such, and they couldn't look away as he played and played, and ended it with a violent clobber to the high hats to rule all violent clobber to the high hats.

Utterson grinned widely while his friend was silent for a long spell, till he finally said, "Well, you know what you're doing. You're in."

"Fried Gold!" cried Skinner in jubilation, "You won't regret it."

"You're in the band, not the flat. I still have a few questions for you. Utterson, you look in a hurry, you can leave if you like."

"Alright, I'm out." said Utterson as he headed out, "I'll come by later and we'll all have a pint at the king's head."

"Go ahead." said Skinner.

"Are you gay?" asked the young man as he crossed his arms on his chest.

"Eh!"

"Are you a homosexual? It's all cool with me, but I really don't feel ike waking up in the morning and walking on naked men in the shower."

"No, I'm as straight as they come."

"Do you do any drugs?"

"Errr. I smoke a little weed every now and then, but I've never did anything heavy, nor do I intend to."

"How do you feel about the war in Iraq?"

"Oh, I'm against it."

"Will you do your shares of the cleaning, dish washing, grocery shopping and sleeping with my women?"

"Yes, except for the last part."

"Hmmm, that was a trick. You've answered very well."

The young man was silent again for a long period, till a smile broke out eventually and he extended a hand which Skinner shook.

"Welcome to 29Stevenson Street, apartment 11. I'm Henry Jekyll, Medicine."

"Rodney Skinner, Law."

* * *

Author's notes:

**1.** Gabriel John Utterson is Jekyll's attorney friend from R. L. Stevenson's 'Jekyll + Hyde'.

**2.** Skinner's _cousin_ will play a significant part later on. (Guess who is he?)

**3. **All the characters live on streets or Buildings named after their creators. (ecample: Jekyll lives on a fictionalStevenson street)


	2. Ricevenom's Gig

Mina Murray, a young auburn haired woman around the age of nineteen struggled to drag the minifridge through the empty corridors of the Stoker dorm building of Gull University. She finally reached her room on the fourth floor and lay down on the floor to catch her breath and ignore the aching in her back.

"Mina, what were you doing?" asked her roommate, Lucy Westenra, as she stepped into the room.

"I ... Fridge... Elevator... Out of order."

"Oh, right. You should have asked me for help."

"I did," said Mina as she looked at her out the corner of her eye, "I told you this morning."

"Did you? Oh, you did say something before I had my coffee. You should know better than to tell me anything before I've had my coffee."

"Noted." said Mina with a grunt as she got up and collapsed on her bed.

"Right," started Lucy as she sat cross-legged on her own bed, "Monday, we start classes and live like proper girls; however, I propose that until Monday, we don't live like proper girls.

"Umm, no, but go ahead."

"Come on, Mina, sweetie. I know that you really loved Jonathan and all, but he did dump you..."

"He did NOT dump me, we reached a mutual decision regarding the future of our relationship and... did you just roll your eye at me?"

"He dumped you, he was scum and he dumped you. And now I suggest you find yourself some moderately attractive young man, have your fun with him then emotionally abuse him, you'll feel wonderful."

"I'll think about it."

"Come on, listen, tonight I've got a date with Arthur, but tomorrow, we'll go out and pain the town red. What do you say?"

"I don't know, what do you plan on doing?"

"Hey! Let's go to a gay bar and Soho and see how many women try to pick us up!"

"Are you serious?"

"It'll boost your ego, but I see your point. How about we do a two days Tarantino-Rodriguez DVD marathon?"

"You know how I feel about Gore and Blood."

A young man walked into the room suddenly.

"Hey, good morning." he said.

"Mina," said Lucy cheerfully, "It's Jack Seward, hey there Jack."

"I know who he is, how are you Jack?"

"I'm find, thank you." said Jack, "How are you?"

"Humph. Surviving."

"Good to hear that, are you all moved in?"

"We are." said Lucy, "And to celebrate it, we're just going to sit here and pout."

"You know, my band's got its act together now that we've found a drummer."

"Oh really? Did Lanyon have second thoughts about his new convictions?"

"No, we've got this guy out of Manchester; he'll be going to Gull too. Anyway, we're playing in the Billy Shears pub down at Delan Street tomorrow night. And I just happen to have these ticket." said Jack as he presented them with a pair of tickets.

"Wow. Tickets, eh?"

"Actually, we're opening for another band that people will actually pay to see. Bit it is a milestone."

"I don't feel like it." said Mina.

"Oh, come on!" objected Lucy, "I'm starting to develop into a quaint and sensible person just by listening to you."

"True. You two have never seen us play." said Jack.

"Oh, alright. But I won't have fun, I give you my word."

"Who gives a toss, really?"

* * *

"My names is Dorian Gray, I am... Basil, what am I really supposed to say? Should I just keep yammering on? Talk without actually saying anything? Alright, I'll do it... Yada yad yada gobble gobble gobble the rain in Spain gathers in the plains god save the queen the fascist regime god save the queen she is no human being."

Basil Hallward, the aspiring filmmaker turned off his camera and looked at his friend Dorian, a true epitome of masculine beauty, as he sat in the open window ledge in his high rise apartment in Soho.

"That's enough, thank you." he said as he put on his glasses and connected the digital camera to his lap top, loaded the one minute film and started to alter it using his video editing software.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful, I'm not in the best of modes, Basil."

"Don't be silly, I couldn't care what you say. I didn't film you for your wit, but to capture a truly beautiful picture."

"Oh, you're making me blush, go on." said Dorian in vanity.

"You disgust me Dorian, but in a good way. Men hate you, you know, they see how their wives and girlfriends look at you and they boil in jealousy cause they know that as hard at they try, they can never arouse the emotion that your mere sight will cause."

"It's a burden, but I manage." said Dorian as he lit himself a cigarette.

"Cheeky bastard." muttered Basil as he burned the short film onto a blank DVD disk, "What are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing much, I'm meeting Sybil for dinner then its back here for some.."

"I get the picture. There we are," said Basil as he took the disk out, "Let's try it on the tele."

Dorian loaded the DVD into Basil's player and hit the play button.

"I already know how it goes, you know."

"Shhh. Watch."

The image of Dorian Gray appeared, sitting in the frame of the open window as a slight wind caused his silky black hair to vibrate. He looked utterly beautiful, Angelic, **Divine**. It was first black and white but transformed into color instantly in a masterful artistic technique. Dorian's smooth voice then started talking nonsense.

"My my!" Dorian said.

"Good, eh?"

"Basil, you're brilliant!" said Dorian in awe.

"Oh, you're too kind."

"I'm serious..." said Dorian as a tear spilled down his check, "It's just... glorious! This man will always be young and beautiful, while I will age and wrinkle."

"Err, Dorian, are you okay?"

"I'm freaking out!"

"Alright, let's turn the tele off and have a nice Bloody Mary." said Basil as he pressed a button on the remote control and rushed to prepare the drink.

"It's just so surreal, I've never given much though to my mortality."

"Most people don't. Listen Dorian, you're blowing this out of proportion, you've got a lot going for you."

"Yeah, like what?"

"You've got a beautiful girl who loves you, you're stinking rich, you're getting atop grade education in a respected university, also, you still have several good years to come, you know, maybe you'll be one of those gray, yet appealing men, Like Connery or Omar Sherif."

"I guess you're right," said Dorian as he was handed the Bloody Mary, "It's just sad that we all have to with up and die."

"Ugh. If you're goint to act like this I'm just going to throw the disk out, I can't stand see you like this..."

"No! Don't!" said Dorian, "I'll get over it, just don't throw it away, can I have it?"

"Why?"

"I'd just like a reminder of these better days in the years to come. What I wouldn't do to be forever young. Why, I think I'd give my very soul to keep from aging."

"Too bad you can't, since when do you believe in souls anyway?"

"I don't, that's why I'm willing to give it away." said Dorian with a smile.

"That's the spirit." said Basil with a light at on the back of the head, "Ley's get pissed." he said as they gulped down their drinks.

* * *

In The Haggard-Verne Dorm Building of Gull University, the strapping young man known as Alan Quatermain was pacing through the corridors, bored out of his mind. He couldn't wait till classes started so that he'd be able to do something stimulating.

He had made a full lap through the corridors and finally returned to the vicinity of his room, where a young man was moving in next door, at the moment he was about to pick up a massive box labeled 'Books'.

"Need any help with that?" asked Quatermain is a slight Scottish brogue.

"No, I'm fine thank you." answered the young man whose face was out of view, he spoke in a well pronounced manner with the subtlest of foreign accents.

"It's no trouble, really."

"I appreciate it, but I can pick up a box all by myself."

He picked up the box and turned to face Quatermain, who could see him clearly for the first time. He was lean and of average height, he was dark skinned and clean shaven, clearely an India. Two thick eyebrows ere a distinguishing feature of his, and beneath them were a pair of brilliant black eyes.

"You can hold the door open, If you don't mind."

"Of course."

Quatermain held the door open to allow the Indian to carry the box inside, then extended his hand as he the Indian's were no longer occupied.

"Alan Quatermain."

"A pleasure, I'm Mahesh Dakkar."

Mahesh uttered his name quickly, causing a confused and hilarious facial expression on Quatermain's part. The Indian smiled and said, "A little tricky to pronounce?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll learn to do it. What was it again?"

"Mahesh Dakkar, " he said slowly, "But, you can call me Nemo, everyone else does."

"Ah, that's more like it. What's your major?"

"Computer Engineering, third year, I've been transferred here from M.I.T. in the United States. You?"

"Archeology. I'm a Freshman."

"Freshman!"

"Yes, I realize I look too old. I used to be in the Marines to earn the money."

Nemo looked slightly put off by that fact, but kept acting civil.

"Have you finished your tour?"

"No, an Iraqi insurgent shot me in the leg. I should send the chap a thank you note and a bunt cake one day."

"I see, would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some."

* * *

Author's Notes:

**1. **Gull University is named after Sir Dr.William Gull, a Jack the Ripper suspect.

**2.** Jack Seward is one of Mina and Lucy's male companions from Bram Stoker's Draculla.

**3.** Basil Hallward was originally the paintr that painted the Portrait of Dorian Gray, he's been changed her to a student filmmaker for reasons to follow. The DVD disk will act as the painting.

* * *

Pointless and slightly crappy, I know, but hey, I'm just beggining. 


	3. The Morning After

_Okay, so I enabled the review thingy so now anyone can review. Also, I have a few questions that I'd like my feedback to. Who would you like to see paired? I was thinking of doing an Alan/Sawyer thing, and would you like to even see Sawyer in this fic? Also, who would you prefer to see end up with Mina, Jekyll or Dorian?_

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Jack, Skinner, Jekyll and Utterson were in the backstage area at the Billy Shears pub as they were preparing to perform before the main attraction of the evening.

Skinner peaked out and saw the anticipating crowd; he then retreated to his band mates.

"It's a nice turn out." said Skinner.

"Yeah, too bad they're not here for us." said Jekyll as he took of his jacket and tossed it aside.

"It's alright, we're still getting paid," said Utterson, "And plus, we're always going to be able to say we opened for Radiohead when we were in college."

**_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Strangely enough, several of the people who are of interest to us just happened to be in the club that night, Mina, Lucy, Dorian and his girlfriend Sybil, Basil but no Nemo or Quatermain if that's what you're wondering. There was also a tall, pale handsome young man who seldom spoke, but it doesn't matter who he is, not right now anyway.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, and those of you who are neither" said an announcer as the spot light fell upon him, "These chaps aren't famous, you may not be here for them but that doesn't mean they're no good. Please welcome, Henry Jekyll on base and lead vocals, Gabriel Utterson on Guitar, Jack Seward on keyboards and Rodney Skinner on drums, give a hand for Ricevenom!"

The four pilled out on the stage with a moderate applause. They started playing a song of Utterson's composition, which included a multitude of four letter words but was well received by the audience as they gave them a generous applause when they were done, the four stood to bask in their moment of glory before scurrying off the stage at the manager's behest as how Radiohead were about to take the stage.

Mina managed to catch Jekyll's attention as he sat at the bar.

"Whose she?" he asked Jack.

"The red-head? Her name is Mina."

"Do you know if she's seeing anyone?"

"She used to see this guy called Harker, but he left her to work in Romania and she hasn't heard of him ever since."

"What're you talking about?" asked Skinner as he joined them before ordering a drink.

"The talent over there." said Jack as he gestured towards the table, "You guys should come and meet them."

"Nah," said Jekyll as he got up, "I think I'm going to turn in. I don't feel too well."

"Jekyll, you're really going home on a night like this?"

"In short, yes. Don't worry, I'll take a cab, see you guys in the morning."

**_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Jekyll wasn't the only one who was instantly drawn to Mina, as Dorian couldn't help but look upon her as Sybil kept talking about something or another. There was something about the beautiful face surrounded by an aura of red hair struck him as magnificent.

"..Dorian?"

"Huh?"

"Were you listening to me?" asked Sybil with a pout.

"Sorry, darling. I guess I wasn't."

"I was asking if you were coming to see my play next week, I'm playing Juliet in 'Romeo...' and I expect you to be there."

"Of course I'll be there, and so will Basil." said Dorian as he kissed her.

"No, Basil won't be there. Basil has an important Seminar to attend, but I'll be there is spirit."

**_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Jekyll was sipping his morning tea when Skinner poked his head out of a gap in his bedroom door.

"'Morning Jekyll, is Jack here?"

"No, why?"

Skinner retreated back in and disappeared for a few moments, then stepped out wearing only training pants and a white t-shirt, Lucy soon followed him and Jekyll didn't need his high IQ to figure out what they had been doing.

"Good morning," said Lucy as she bashfully waved at Jekyll, "You're Harry, right?"

"It's Henry, and you would be...?"

"Lucy."

"right, Mina's friend."

"Yes, do you know her?"

"Not really, just by name. Would like some breakfast? We've got tea and... cigarettes."

"Oh, no thank you, I'd better get back. Goodbye."

Lucy soon left and Skinner joined Jekyll in their poor excuse for a breakfast.

"So, you've rogered Lucy, eh?"

"Yeah, she seemed... what's the word?"

"Easy?"

"Well, I was going for carefree. Listen, I think Jack has a minor crush on her, and I don't want him-"

"I understand; mum's the word."

"Oh, good. You know, she's really something I actually think this might be going somewhere."

"What's her last name?" asked Jekyll.

"It's...errrr."

"I rest my case."

"So how was your night?" asked Skinner to change the subject.

"I got home and passed out."

"How come? Were you sick?"

"I'm always sick... never mind."

Skinner took a sip of tea and looked at a locked door in one corner of the apartment.

"What's that room?"

"It's my personal study."

"Personal study? What's in it?"

"My books, my research, things like that."

"Can I see it?"

"NO!"

"Jeez, what's in there? I'm paying my share in the rent, I should at least get to see what's in it, I practically own half of it, you know."

Jekyll looked at him intently, "Skinner, for your half of the rent you get full control over your room, you get to use the kitchen and bathroom as much as you like to a reasonable extent, you may use my stereo and television, you may use my records and CDs as long as you return it to their proper place and you can even go into my room if you need to borrow something. But while you're here, I kindly ask you to stay out of this room."

"Alright, If it's that important, I'll keep out of it. There isn't a dead body in there, right?"

"Right."

"Heroin stash?"

"No."

"Mini-brothel?"

"No."

"Osama Bin Laden?"

"He checked out last week."

"Well, that's good enough for me."

Utterson soon came by brining burgers and fries, the three started to eat the junky, yet slightly more nutritious meal when Jekyll suddenly looked up and said, "Did you hear a knock on the door?"

"No?"

"I don't think so."

"I think I did."

Jekyll got up and headed for the door and stepped out, soon, a pair of voices were heard arguing, one of which was Jekyll's.

"You're a real prick, Edward! What are you smirking about?" was uttered loudly on Jekyll's part, grabbing Skinner's attention. The rest of the conversation wasn't audible.

"What's going on, who is this Edward?" asked Skinner.

"Henry's identical twin brother," said Utterson with a mouth filled with mustard and beef, "You couldn't tell them apart of not for their different voices and general mannerisms."

"What's the deal with him?"

"He shows up every once in a while to cause trouble for Henry, then takes off leaving Henry to clean up the mess. I've met him once, I can't say I cared for him one bit."

Jekyll walked back into the apartment, obviously upset.

"All right?" asked Utterson.

"Huh? Oh, Edward got into an argument when we were at the pub with one of the neighbors."

"What did he do?"

"Ugh, he was a little overly mean to a little girl that bothered him, what an Arsehole!"

"What little girl?" asked Skinner.

"Lily from downstairs, the Greek family's daughter."

"Toothpick Lily? She's a little Angel! What the hell did she do to him?"

"Edward, like a dog, acts on impulse, then later tries to find an excuse for what he did."

"Well, now that he's come and gone, you can expect to have several weeks of peace." said Utterson.

"Oh," said Skinner, "We're invited to a party."

"We are? By whom and when and so on?"

"Tomorrow night, by Lucy and her room mate, what was her name?"

"Mina."

"That's the one, Mina! Anyway we're invited to this big party for students who will be starting at Gull on Monday, and seeing as how we're eligible, slightly handsome, interesting musician bachelors, we were invited."

"Yeah, why not?"

**_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

"I'll tell you why not!" objected Mina, "We're...I'm...I don't want to."

"Mina," said Lucy as she grabbed Mina by the shoulders, "You've got to snap out of the whole Nancy-Sinatra-My-Baby-Shot-Me-Down. For god's sake, none of us will be safe till you get shackeled, woman!"

"Shackeled!"

"Poor choice of words, darling. Look, two days from now, college will start and we'll be swarmed with demanding professors and endless work. Right now, we need to suck the marrow out of life. So please, do it with me?"

"Oh alright!" agreed Mina reluctantly.

"Excellent! Will you make the dip and other assorted munchies?"

"I might as well, who are you inviting?"

"Well, there's Skinner, the bloke whom I spent the night with, and his flat mate Harry."

"How about Jack?"

"Yeah, why not? Let's invite Utterson too, there is this Girl Sybil I've signed for a few classes with, she's bringing her boyfriend, there is also thus guy Alan and a Pakistani fellow I've met while I went visiting my cousin at Verne-Haggard Hall. Now, my parents are out of the country for the weekend, so we'll have the party there only we have to prepare everything."

"So, just those eight?"

"Of course not. There'll be at least twenty others. Oh! There was this cute Romanian fellow I met at the club, I invited him too."

"Romanian! So that's it, huh? You've been through every man in England."

"Ha ha, cheeky girl. I'm just welcoming him to Britannia, that's all."

"And by Britannia, are you referring to your pus-"

"I'm referring to the country!"

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****

_So, what do you think, do you have any comments, tips, suggestions, objections or anything of the sort?_


	4. The Party at Lucy's

_Reviewed at last! Thank god almighty, reviewed at last!_

_Well, you'd have to consider two things. First, Victorian London is different from 21st century london, so while the original Jekyll yearned to do some things like swear and drink alot, he can do those things in the future without anyone thinking less of him. Second, Jekyll is still a student, and isn't well known as he would be in his original timeline, so he gets to do certin stuff like playing the guitar. _

_As the story will progress, you will see that Jekyll has dark desires that not even 21st century will condone. So you see, his gentleman behavior is still intact in the essence that while he has a lot of attitude, he want to help people and has high moral standards._

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"ALRIGHT!"

Skinner looked at the door of Jekyll's study as his eccentric roommate finally agreed to drop what he's doing and accompany him to Lucy's party, after a good fifteen minutes of banging on the door.

Skinner heard the sound of several bolts and latches being slid out of place and unlocked, then heard the light being turned off and Jekyll pushed the door open.

The lights from the outside spilled slightly into Jekyll's private study, and Skinner could glimpse the inside of the study and see some things, a computer, a set of beakers and a cage with something inside.

"You can de-twist your knickers, I'm out." said Jekyll as he locked the door.

"Thanks, I will. Ready"  
"Yeah, I'm ready."

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Skinner pulled up in a parking lot next to the Westnra's building, and he an the rest of the members of Ricevenom stepped out. At the same time, Dorian and Sybil were getting out of the first's BMW. And fifteen minutes earlier, Alan and Mahesh (Or Nemo as he will henceforth be known) had walked over to the building from a bus stop where they had gotten off.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dorian watched with fascination as Mina refilled the punch bowl, grinning to himself at her awkwardness. Then turned back to Sybil who was starring at an old framed picture of Lucy's mother with the late Sir Lawrence Olivier.

He had to get away from her, for a little while, if Basil with him right now, he could engage the gorgeous redhead in a conversation and woo her, But Basil was engaged for the night, so he had to come up with something.

"Excuse me, mate." said Skinner as he tapped Dorian on the shoulder, "Do you know Lucy or have seen her anywhere"  
"No, sorry." said Dorian without giving him more than a glance.

A sudden idea suddenly occurred to him; he turned back to Skinner and asked, "Do you see that girl over there?"

Dorian was pointing at Sybil.

"Yeah, what about her"  
"She's my girlfriend; I could use your help right now. You see, I'm interested in talking with the redhead right there, don't look"  
"Hey, that's Mina! She'd know where Lucy is!"

Skinner walked towards Mina, completely ignoring Dorian, who had to look for someone else.

"Excuse me," he said as he stopped Jekyll, "Can I have a word"  
"Sure, what about"  
"There's is this girl I want to talk to, but I have my girlfriend with me and I need to get away from her"  
"Alright"  
"I need you to talk to her, hit on her even, she'll say no, of course"  
"Of course? Why, do I have seven heads"  
"I didn't mean it that way. I'll pay you."

"Pay me"  
"Seven pounds, will it do?"

"You'll pay me seventy pounds to accost your girlfriend"  
"Yes!" said Dorian as he reached for the money.  
"Get away from me, you fruitcake!" said Jekyll as he walked away.

--------------------------------------------------------

Some young man approached Lucy as she stood grooving to music.

"Lucy"  
"Hey, Arthur!" she said as she stepped away from the guy she was dancing with and took Arthur's arm to lead him away to somewhere more private.

Skinner watched as Lucy walked away with Arthur, slightly pissed, she had obviously gotten over him real quick. He looked into space with sadness.

"And I thought she was the one! How utterly cruel."

Skinner was like that for almost ten seconds. Then regained his cheerful disposition and smiled wide, "Good thing there are plenty of fish in the sea!"

--------------------------------------------------------

"Beautiful night isn't it?" said Jekyll awkwardly as he stood on the balcony with Mina who was oblivious to his existence.

"Sorry?" she asked.

"I was... ehh," said Jekyll then chuckled as he squeezed his eyes, "I think I just used a line that hasn't been in use since, what, 1912?"

Mina smiled at the sincerity of someone as awkward as her.

"Oh, keep trying, you can do it"  
"Thanks. I'm Henry Jekyll"  
"I know, I've seen you play, you're very good"  
"That's good to know"  
"I'm Wilhelmina, or Mina for short"  
"Wilhelmina?" "Eh, it's a family name"  
"'Nuff said, I was almost named Yancy"  
"This conversation is going in an odd direction. So, Henry Jekyll, what is your major?"

"Medicine, you"  
"Music, I was originally going to study chemistry but I changed my mind. Hey, do you live in Doyle all"  
"No, I've got my own place on Stevenson street." said Jekyll, "Listen, are you seeing anyone at the moment"  
"Well, no"  
"Then you wouldn't find it inappropriate if I asked you ou-OWW AAA!"

Jekyll was it by a sudden migraine, which caused him to howl in pain as he clutched his temple.

"Are you alright?" asked Mina worriedly.

"Son of a bitch!" cursed Jekyll as is eyes clenched shut, "Motherf"  
"Should I get some help"  
"Sod off, Edward!" Jekyll barked, much to Minas puzzlement and fright, she started having serious doubt regarding Jekyll's sanity.

Dorian stepped onto the balcony, having convinced Skinner to accost Sybil, and saw what was going on and saw an opportunity which he intended to seize.

"Are you alright, Miss?" asked Dorian as he pulled her away.  
"He.. There is something wrong with him, I think he needs help"  
"I think he needs to stop lighting up"  
"Lighting up? You mean"  
"Yes, I saw him earlier smoking a roll of weed, god knows what else." said Dorian, lying through his teeth.

They were inside once again, she was able to clearly see is face, and wasn't applaud at what she saw.

"Did he hurt you?" asked Dorian, faking worry.  
"I'm fine, he just stepped out; he didn't look high to me"  
"I know, it's a shame people lack the decency to ravage their bodies with that venom in their own homes, disgusting. I'm Dorian Gray"  
"Mina."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you alright, mate?"

Jekyll's migraines were fading; all that left was a slit dizziness. He looked up at the two young men, and saw a well built Englishman and an Indian of medium build.

"I'm fine." said Jekyll as he got up.

"Are you sure? You were talking to someone named Edward." said Nemo.  
"Really, I'm fine."

"Cigi?" asked Alan as he offered him a cigarette.  
"No, thanks. I think I'll just hang here till my flat mate decides to leave"  
"Mind if we join you? There isn't much lady action going on in there." said Alan.  
"Bare in mid, this guy has just gotten out of the army." said Nemo jokingly.  
"Suit yourselves." said Jekyll as he sat on the wooden bench.

"He's Alan Quatermain, I'm Mahesh Dakkar, you can call me Nemo." said Nemo as he sat down next to him.  
"Henry Jekyll. Did you see a girl with red hair nearby"  
"Yeah, there was a siren red-headed damsel in distress being rescued from you by Sir Dorian." said Nemo sardonically.  
"Who?" asked Alan.  
"Dorian Gray, I've talked with him a few times before in Gull, he's a real fop. By now, he's pouring his sweat poison into that girl's ear"  
"Bugger," said Jekyll with a sigh, "I've been dieing to get to know her, then just as I'm about to ask her out, I go into one of my episodes"  
"Episodes"  
"It's my business, really"  
"Nuff said." said Alan, "Look, Henry, It's not too bad. You've made a fool out of yourself, so what? You'll get over her, or after two months at Gull and she'll realize there is a lot worse than guys with mind numbing headaches who bicker with invisible Edwards"  
"Here's to hoping."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Mina scribbled down her phone number on a piece of paper, her cheeks reddened by a slight blush as she couldn't hide her excitement about being asked out by the charming and utterly handsome Dorian.

"Thanks," said Dorian, "I'll call you soon"  
"I'll be waiting."

Dorian then went to where Sybil and Skinner were standing, and signaled for Skinner to leave.

"Alright, if you say no, then it's no." said Skinner as he walked away.  
"I've been saying no for ten minutes"  
"Whatever, love."


	5. Mondays, There's Nothing Like Them

_Alright, then. Dorian/Mina it is!_

_**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

Like all days of the week so often do, Monday arrived and the individuals of our story had to relinquish some aspects of their lives to adapt to busy college life. Dorian stopped looking at his reflection so much, Alan cut back on target shooting and limited it to Saturdays, the members of the Band known as Ricevenom stopped jamming together on week days and so on.

Coincidentally, several of the people of interest wound up in the same sections. Such as Nemo and Jekyll, who had both signed up for a Psychology class taught by Prof. Danvers Carew. Also, Dorian and Mina found themselves in the same History Class. Mina, Alan and Skinner found themselves in the same German for beginners class.

Jekyll and Nemo had sat next to each other during their lecture and left the room still talking; they had already met a few nights ago at Lucy's party, and were heading to the nearest cafeteria to get a much needed nibble.

On their way they ran into Skinner who oddly enough, easily able to memorize Nemo's name, but agreed to call him Nemo for the sake of conformity.

In the cafeteria, Nemo lead the two to a table where Alan sat reading a news paper.

"Skinner," started Jekyll, "This is Alan Quatermain"  
"Rodney Skinner," said Skinner as he sat down, "I think we're in that German class"  
"Yes, I think so." said Alan as he was still reading the paper.

"What are you reading so intently?" asked Nemo jokingly, "Page Three"  
"No, there's an article about the supposed death of James Moriarty." said Alan.  
"James Moriarty?" asked Skinner.  
"He's an international criminal and arms dealer. He had a hand in the genocide of Bosnians and in the darfur Region." explained Nemo.

"Well, there's one nut that has bitten the dust"  
"The body has not been recovered yet, though." said Alan as he folded the paper.

"Oh, look what the car dragged in." said Nemo as he gestured to Dorian Gray as he sat to a table surrounded by equally pompous people.

"I met him at Lucy's party." said Skinner.  
"Met too, who is he?" asked Jekyll.  
"You don't recognize him?" asked Nemo, "I guess you wouldn't, since you were having that explosive headache. That's Dorian Gray"  
"That's Dorian Gray? He offered my seventy pounds and his girlfriend"  
"What?" asked Alan.  
"You've heard correctly"  
"He offered me fifty to do the same," said Skinner, "Do you think I can ask him for the other twenty?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Penny for you thoughts?"

Mina looked to her side and saw the as always, charming and handsome. They walked down the corridor as student left at the end of the one O'clock lecture as the two-thirty class was about to begin.

"Oh, nothing, I was just heading to my next class"  
"So am I, what is it"  
"Umm... Classical Music History with Prof. Springsteen"  
"Springsteen? He's good, in the future try to register with Prof. Neville Young"  
"So, you're a music major too"  
"No, I'm Business Management and minoring in Corporate Law, but I've always had a passion for the arts. And speaking of Arts, I have ticket for a musical this weekend, interested"  
"Sure, what is it"  
"It's 'Spectacular, Spectacular'. It sounds tacky I know, but it's not. It's been played for over a century, it's quit"  
"Spectacular"  
"Oh, a sense of humor, I'm bewitched." said Dorian as they shared a chuckle.  
"Actually I've wanted to see it for some time." said Mina, "Wait a minute; the Parisian theater company is in town to... Oh my God! Is it"  
"Yes it is"  
"Dorian, I'm really... this is"  
"All my friends are capitalist yuppies with no regard for anything beautiful," said Dorian, "You'd be letting a ticket go to waste"  
"Well, Okay!"

Mina giggled happily, and then said, "You know, I don't think Prof. Springsteen would mind if I missed this one lecture, so what you say we go have a cup of coffee or something."

Dorian was looking in the distance and saw Sybil coming his direction but not aware of him in the busy corridor.

"Sorry, I've got to go see my Grandad, it's his retirement party, rain check"  
"No problem."

Mina walked away smiling, as Dorian walked up to Sybil and said, "Penny for your thoughts"  
"Oh, Dorian, I've been thinking about you all day"  
"Oh, how sweet. Listen, Sybil, love; I couldn't get the tickets to 'Spectacular"  
"But I thought you said that"  
"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. Sebastian had two tickets in two separate sections of the theater, I wouldn't have enjoyed it without you at my side. Though, if you want to go alone I could probably get you a ticket"  
"Oh, how sweet! No, I can wait for another time when we both can enjoy it. Would you like to get some Coffee"  
"I'd love some."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mina cursed her luck as she walked back to the University Dorms as it rained cats and dogs, she had went to middle London to get the text books she needed, but she couldn't find the bookstore.

She decided to save some time and give her clothes a better chance of survival by taking a shortcut, which proved to be a very bad idea. Here is why: Once Mina advanced through the alleys between the buildings, she was confronted by two very imposing large men, muggers to be precise.

"Give us the purse, Bitch"  
"gulp... Alright."

Mina tossed the purse at them which they caught and burst open, and were frustrated by the sight of a few credit cards and just two pounds.

"There's just plastic in here"  
"Well, that tends to happen when you make a living out of robbing students as they're walking home in the sodden rain"  
"Are you making fun of me?" asked the other mugger.  
"God forbid no, why would I want to exacerbate an already shitty situation"  
"Exacerbate a shitty situation?" asked a mugger with a dumbfounded expression.  
"Yes, Exacerbate means to make worse"  
"I KNOW WHAT EXACERBATE MEANS! I WENT TO COLLEGE YOU KNOW"  
"Really"  
"Yeah! Gull University, class of Eighty-Six. Got a degree in Music, the biggest waste of any four years of any man and a boat load of money that would have been better used to cover the bottom of a bird cage! You better have more money on you, little girl, or we'll find another way to collect."

The muggers started to approach her with devious and suggestive smirks; it didn't take anyone with a sick imagination to figure out what was about to happen unless Mina could magically produce a bucket of pounds out of thin air.

"Mates, what's the score?"

The muggers turned to Alan and Nemo who approached from behind them.

"Fuck off, you pricks!" said a mugger as they ignored the two young men and turned back to Mina, resuming their looking bastardly and evil.

"Ehem, what are you doing?" asked Alan.  
"Fuck." said one of the muggers.  
"Off." said the other.

"Look, you wankers, you better leave her alone." said Alan.  
"Or what?" asked a mugger as he turned around.

"Or you'll get an arse kicking of a lifetime."

"By who?" asked the other mugger as he left Mina alone.

"You mean 'Whom'." noted Mina.  
"Shut up!"

"Which one do you want?" whispered Alan.  
"The big one." answered Nemo jokingly.  
"Funny. Which one"  
"The one who looks like he wants to kill us"  
"Oh, quit buggering around!"

The muggers attacked, and Nemo and Alan each fought one in the manner he knew how to fight with, which is to say, martial arts in Nemo's case and bare-knuckle boxing in Alan's. Eventually, both muggers ran away nursing a bruise or something like that. Now, back to Mina who picked up her purse.

"Are you alright?" asked Alan.  
"I'm fine thank you, though now I wonder what the use of my major is, I mean what the hell I am supposed to do with a Music History degree, and I wonder if it's too late for me to switch to studying Chemistry"  
"I think she bumped her head." said Nemo, "Wait a minute, you're Mina, right? Lucy's Friend"  
"Yes"  
"I'm Mahesh Dakkar but you can call me Nemo. That's Alan Quatermain; we were at the party last weekend"  
"I'm in your German for beginners' class."

"Thank you, I don't know what would have happened if you didn't show up. What are you doing here anyway?" asked Mina.  
"Soup." answered Alan.

"What"  
"There is this guy who makes the most amazing soup, but the authorities shut down his restaurant and took away his license because there was a rumor he used ferrets and hamsters in his soup, he now makes it in his basement and runs an underground soup restaurant in one of these buildings"  
"Ferrets and hamsters?" asked Alan.  
"And rats"  
"Rats!" asked Mina and Alan who were both disgusted and surprised.  
"Oh, I'm sure it's just a rumor. And even if it isn't, wasn't that the best soup ever? I think I'd have some more even if I knew he used Rats for a fact"  
"Well, so would I. But you should have told me!" objected Alan.  
"If I did, do you think you would have agreed? You wouldn't have came and you would have missed a chance to experience the greatest soup there ever was, is, and ever will be."

"Well, you're right." said Alan.

"Is the soup conversation over?" asked Mina.  
"Yes. We're heading back to Gull, can we walk you back"  
"I'd appreciate it."

**_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

R&R. 'Spectacular, Spectacular' is a play within the 'Moulin Rouge!' movie.


	6. Wednesday

"Oh, how dashing of you, Alan!" giggled Skinner.  
"Shut up, Skinner." said Alan sternly.  
"Yeah, shut up!" said Mina.

Alan, Mina and Skinner were sitting next to each other waiting for Prof. Renfield to come and lecture them, but since ten minutes had passed and he was yet to appear, which in the unwritten yet staunchly followed charter of the University student meant that they were obligated to leave, which they did.

The Cafeteria was quickly becoming a regular hangout for each of our heroes individually, since it was within close proximity of most of their classes. Mina had accompanied Skinner and Alan to the cafeteria, mostly because she was so busy trading verbal barbs with Skinner, that she didn't bother to do otherwise, and soon found herself sitting at one of the biggest tables alongside Skinner, Alan, Nemo and someone else she recognized soon enough.

"Mina, hi." stammered Jekyll.  
"Err... Yeah, hi." answered Mina as she remembered what Dorian said to her about Jekyll doing drugs at Lucy's party.

"It's awful, isn't it?" commented Nemo.  
"What is?" asked Alan.  
"Your Professor Renfield was found dead this morning"  
"Oh, my god"  
"...with two puncture wounds in the neck"  
"Gunshots?" asked Alan.  
"No, it appears to have been the work of an animal, though the body was drained of blood, there was none anywhere near the body."

"Jesus Christ, that's bloody horrible..." started Skinner, "Hey, does this mean we get an A in the course?"

Mina and Alan looked at him in disbelief.

"What! I'm just Askin'!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Skinner took off his wet trench coat and tossed it onto the rack, turned on the stereo to listen to some music and collapsed in exhaustion onto the couch and closed his eyes.

It was mid week with two days left to the weekend, he had spent the day between going to lectures and hanging with the new crew that consisted of himself, Jekyll, Alan and Nemo, Mina seemed likely to become part of the gang, once she got over her irritance from him and her odd fear of Jekyll.

Speaking of Jekyll, he wondered where was at the moment. He looked at the clock which read ten-thirty in the evening.

Suddenly, Jekyll stepped out of his bedroom, his hair combed in a fashionable manner, was wearing an elegant suit and a golden Rolex. It was all unlike Jekyll who spent the day in Jeans and long sleeved T-Shirts.

"You're dressed up well, got any plans?" asked Skinner "Hmmm, you must be Skinner."

Jekyll's voice was somehow changed, and was filled with arrogance and spite; he looked at Skinner with disdain.

"Yeah, it's Skinner. Are you alright, Henry"  
"Henry isn't home, it's Edward."

"Oh, so you're Edward. It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Ro"  
"I know who you are, Henry told me about you. You're the ponce from Manchester"  
"Ponce!" Skinner asked, shocked at the unwarranted hostility Edward was treating him with.  
"Yes, that's how Henry described you. An ignorant buffoon "  
"Look, you're lucky you're Henry's brother, or I'd kick seven shades of Wednesday out of you"  
"Well then, there's no reason for me stop. Of course I have more pressing matters than pointing the numerous disgusting aspects of you."

Edward walked out of the apartment, leaving Skinner to stair at the open door, amazed at how accurate Utterson's description of Edward Jekyll was.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Nemo sat at his computer, having finished the computer scripting assignments that were handed out today, and were considered difficult to others but were merely a form of intelligent of entertainment to him. He now started sending out e-mails to his father, one of the top industry moguls in India, his mother, an internationally renowned women's right activist as well as his brothers scattered in several universities in Europe and the United States.

Once he was done with all of that, he decided he was going to help out his neighbor and friend Alan in fixing another registration error that resulted in Alan's incapability to attend a course he had signed up for.

Hacking into the Universities mainframe was just another challenge and pleasant exercise for him, he had after all hacked his first computer at the age of eleven, and was able to access Scotlandyard's system by the time he was sixteen. It only took him a few minutes to fix the screw up, get out and turn off his computer.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dammit."

Dorian had nicked himself while he was shaving, and now it was bleeding like a cracked dam, he cursed as he pushed a hand towel against the wound and went to answer the ringing phone.

"Hello." he said angrily.  
"Hi, Dorian, it's me"  
"Hi, Sybil"  
"I'm sorry, dear, but I can't come over tonight, rehearsals you know"  
"Fine, is that all"  
"Well,... Dorian, are you alright? You seem upset."

Dorian sighed in frustration, "I'm alright, I'm fucking peachy"  
"Dorian"  
"Look, I've got to go." said Dorian as he slammed down the phone.

He went back to the bathroom to take a good luck at the cut, puling the towel away.

It wasn't that bad, really, it is a lot better than he thought, the wound was almost sealed and well on its way to fading. Which is strange since he remembered it being particularly painful.

He shrugged it off and realized he had to smooth things over with Sybil in the morning, and do something with her before the weekend when he'd take out Mina.

He put on his shirt and went to sit in the hall, in his first night for himself in a long while. Going to college, hanging with socialites and seducing beautiful girls can be very stressful, after all.

Speaking of which, he was discovering that Mina was starting to turn into a slight object of obsession. He usually wasn't drawn to red heads, but upon seeing her she had awoken feelings in him he seldom felt. While he obviously felt lust on a regular basis, she made him feel it exceptionally, whenever he was in her proximity and talking to her, he'd be overcome over with the urge to have her right there. He'll be very proud when he will finally lead her to his bed.

Nothing good was playing on the TV, so he crouched by the cabinet, looking through piles of DVDs for something he could pass the time watching. But his pursuit was fruitless as he had couldn't muster any the interest to watch any.

Finally, he came upon an unmarked DVD, a homemade one. He couldn't remember what it was. He figured it was a home movie he had shot with a particularly bold girl who he had taken home one night.

For the sake of it he loaded the DVD into the DVD player, expecting to see himself starring in a sex tape, which wasn't the case as the DVD turned out to be the one Basil had shot of him, sitting in the window frame, talking nonsense.

"My names is Dorian Gray, I am... Basil, what am I really supposed to say? Should I just keep yammering on? Talk without actually saying anything? Alright, I'll do it... Yada yad yada gobble gobble gobble. I'm a male chauvinist pig, god save the queen the fascist regime god save the queen she is no human being."

Dorian felt slightly puzzled as the movie stopped, he didn't remember calling himself "a male chauvinist pig", how was it possible?

Looking closer, he could see a scar on his cheek on the screen, one on his left cheek, much like the one he had right now which was quickly fading.

"What the hell?"

His mind rationally came to a natural deduction, that since he was pretty drunk the day Basil shot that movie of him, he said some things he didn't remember and had a similar scar at the moment, yes, it all made sense.

His mind shelved the whole thing as he pressed the eject button and looked for something else to watch. 


	7. Bloody Saturdays

Yes, Dracula will be making an apperance eventually. Keep the reviews coming.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Friday at last! Friday at last! Thank Harold almighty it's Friday at Last!"

Skinner's statement garnered a few laughs, smiles and rolls of eyes as students exited campus at the end of the week, he had just said what was on their minds, and done it ever so cheerfully.

"You have no inner monologue, do you?" asked Jekyll as he caught up with him.

"Jekyll! Where have you been?"

After Edward left Skinner two days ago, that was the last he saw of either twin.

"I got into a bit of weird stuff, please don't ask"  
"What do you mean don't ask"  
"Please, Skinner, It's private"  
"Alright. Are you though, alright I mean"  
"I'm in one piece, the truth is Skinner, I'm sick"  
"Oh dear! Venereal diseases, is it"  
"What? No! It's nothing really. Where are we off to?" "I was heading home, but I figure we can swing by Nemo's"  
"I'm up for that."

Skinner and Jekyll changed their direction towards the dorms and were briefly silent.

"So, what's gone down in the past few days?" asked Jekyll.  
"I met Edward."

"Edward, huh?"

Jekyll then suddenly realized what might have happened between the two.

"Oh, Skinner, did you cold clock him"  
"No, I wanted to though"  
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Look, he's just an asshole, don't ever give a damn about a word he says"  
"He said you called me a ponce and an ignorant buffoon"  
"Well, that makes him a lying asshole"  
"Henry, are you saying you didn't say those things"  
"Yes, Skinner, I didn't say them. I swear"  
"Alright, then. What've you got down for the weekend"  
"Nothing, why"  
"I invited the guys over to just hang, Alan and Nemo that is"  
"Skinner, I was hoping to just relax and sleep it through. I've been having a rough couple of days"  
"Mina will be there too." said Skinner with a smug grin.  
"Oh?" said Jekyll, then tried to not sound so eager, "Ummm, why...I mean why would I, you know, care"  
"Henry, m'boy. Contrary to appearances, I am an authority on matters of the heart. And my grasp on the labyrinths of the male cerebrum tells me that you're quit smitten"  
"Smitten? No. Slightly turned on, maybe."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following day saw Alan, Nemo and Mina come to Skinner and Jekyll's apartment, Jack and Utterson came by as well and played for a bit before running off to do something or another. While Nemo, Skinner and Alan started drinking beer like there was no tomorrow, Jekyll stayed sober as to not totally blow it with Mina who was finely dressed and remained sober as well.

"You know, I bet you're still pondering what went on with me that night at Lucy's party"  
"Not really. You were... under the influence, weren't you"  
"Under the influence?" asked Jekyll suspiciously, "Whose influence"  
"Umm... Lady Opium"  
"Opium... you mean you thought I was stoned?" asked Jekyll then burst out laughing, "That wasn't the case at all. Who told you that"  
"Dorian, he saw you"  
"Dorian? I'm gonna kill 'em. Listen, I don't do that stuff, either Dorian was taking a mickey or a he saw someone else"  
"Really"  
"I swear on my Les Paul guitar, my mother's grave and God almighty."

Minutes passed as Nemo played the drums and Alan attempted to sing God save the queen with a Scottish accent. Mina and Jekyll then started having several conversations regarding art, chemistry and other rubbish like that.

"I should leave." said Mina as she straightened her dress and put on her coat as Jekyll fetched he purse.  
"Where to? The Night's just getting started"  
"I have a date"  
"Dorian"  
"Yeah, we're going to see a musical"  
"Which one"  
"Spectacular, Spectacular"  
"I've seen it, It's rubbish! Hippies and talking sitars all in one show. Don't go see it, stay here with us!"

Mina laughed, "I can't keep him waiting, we'll do this again sometime"  
"Okay, see you Monday"  
"See you."

Jekyll dropped the smile as the door closed and Mina left, he had spent the past six hours using his best moves and lines and it didn't work.

"Oyo, Jekyll!" called Skinner, "How did it go"  
"Well, she doesn't think I'm scary anymore. But she's still going to date Dorian."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Dorian and Mina left the theatre, laughing and discussing the musical as they attempted to hail a cap.

Sybil watched in alarmed puzzlement as Dorian and Mina stood closely together, in an intimate manner that reminded her of herself and Dorian when they first started dating over a year ago. She had managed to get two tickets in a nosebleed section of the theater and was looking forward to using the to surprise Dorian with, after he had claimed to fail at acquiring the tickets they wanted, she came here after she couldn't reach him and had no time left, to see him in their seats with some new tart.

How could he? She wondered. She done things to her she never thought she'd do to another man, she'd refrained from doing some things that would have served her dreams for his sake, and this was how he repaid her.

"This won't fly." she said as her tears started to stream down her cheek.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Well, I guess this is goodnight." said Mina as she and Dorian stood at the door of Stoker Hall, her place of residence, "Would you like to come in? I think my flat mate is out."

Normally, Dorian would vigorously respond to her invitation and only leave after "breakfast", but he preferred to further delay it all.

"No, I should get back home"  
"Alright, call me."

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Don worrry, Jekyll." said Alan with a twisted tongue as the four college students sat on the floor, drunk and playing video games at midnight in Jekyll and Skinner's apartment, "You'll get laid, eventually... Hey, ye should meat this girl I know, she's no bad to look at and is sort of... what's the word? Oh yeah, a Tart"  
"Sounds like a plan," said Jekyll as he was being thrashed by Nemo as they fought on the screen in a martial arts game, "What the hell does Gray have that I don't?"

"Well, there's..." started Skinner.  
"Rhetorical question."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Dorian turned on the lights as he walked through the door of his flat and head directly to the phone and dialed Mina's number.

"Hello, It's Dorian"  
"That was quick." said Mina with a little laugh.  
"I know, I just felt like calling. I'm not coming on too strong, am I"  
"I don't think so, and I don't mind"  
"Listen, I know the common protocols of dating state that we should wait for a while, but would you like so dinner tomorrow night"  
"I'd love some."

Someone then started ringing Dorian's doorbell so he decided to cut the call short.

"I've got to go. Goodnight"  
"Goodnight."

Mina smiled from ear to ear as she sat up in her bed and smiled from ear to ear, much to the pleasure of Lucy who was taking a strong interest in Mina and Dorian's relationship.

As Lucy and Mina started recounting and discussing the date, Dorian went to answer the door and saw an obviously disarrayed Sybil standing in the doorway, her eyes were red from crying and dry tears marked her cheeks.

"Sybil, what's wrong"  
"How was the musical?" asked Sybil calmly with an undercurrent of wrath, "Did it live up to its name?"

Dorian didn't try to lie or deny anything, he realized she knew what she saw, and realized she saw that he wasn't alone.

"We're over, Sybil"  
"Why?" asked Sybil as she pushed Dorian angrily into the apartment and came in after him, "Why did you do it?"

Dorian closed the door to stifle the screaming that was going to happen momentarily.

"Didn't I do anything you wanted me to do in bed? Did I-" Sybil raged on.  
"Keep your voice down"  
"What was it"  
"Nothing, Sybil. You were the best girlfriend a man could have, isn't that what you wanted to hear"  
"I want to hear why did you do it"  
"Free Will, look it up. I'm sorry you had to know this way, Sybil. You did nothing wrong, I just don't want to see you anymore."

Sybil broke down as she couldn't believe what he was telling her.

"This can't be it!" said Sybil as tears started to stream again.  
"I'm sorry, Sybil, I don't see a future for us"  
"But, you love me! You've said it"  
"I lied Sybil, you're a great girl. You've made me very happy on occasion, I enjoyed the times we spent together, but I never really loved you"  
"No no no no, you're lying"  
"We're over, deal with it."

"I love you, Dorian! I love so much it physically hurts me to hear you say this, do you think that Bitch will treat you half as great as I did"  
"I don't know, but I'm not going to give her up for you. It hurts me to say this," said Dorian lying through his teeth in the last part, for he didn't care about her feelings, "I can never feel anything like what you want towards you"  
"You bastard!" said Sybil as she beat his chest with her fists, he held her close to his chest.

"Calm down, dear, don't make such a fool out of yourself. You'll learn to live without me, it'll hurt for a while then you'll cope with it. There is no reason why we can't all be friends some-"

Sybil couldn't bring herself to listen to him, she pushed him away and ran out the apartment.

He felt no remorse or guilt, just mild discomfort, and it didn't take long for him to forget about it all.

Hw turned on his TV to watch something before going to bed, he hadn't used it in three days, and he suddenly realized that he had forgotten to switch the DVD player off and that the short film that Basil had shot had been continuously playing ever since.

He watched as the forty second film played, the Dorian on the screen spoke.  
"My names is Dorian Gray, I am... Basil, what am I really supposed to say? Should I just keep yammering on? Talk without actually saying anything? Alright, I'll do it... Yada yad yada gobble gobble gobble. I'm a male chauvinist pig, and I'm a cold hearted bastard, god save the queen she is no human being." 


	8. A Scorned Woman

"My names is Dorian Gray, I am... Basil, what am I really supposed to say? Should I just keep yammering on? Talk without actually saying anything? Alright, I'll do it... Yada yada yada gobble gobble gobble. I'm a male chauvinist pig, and I'm a cold hearted bastard, god save the queen she is no human being."

"My names is Dorian Gray, I am... Basil, what am I really supposed to say? Should I just keep yammering on? Talk without actually saying anything? Alright, I'll do it... Yada yad yada gobble gobble gobble. I'm a male chauvinist pig, and I'm a cold hearted bastard, god save the queen she is no human being."

"My names is Dorian Gray, I am... Basil, what am I really supposed to say? Should I just keep yammering on? Talk without actually saying anything? Alright, I'll do it... Yada yad yada gobble gobble gobble."

Dorian hit the pause button on the remote to stop the DVD from looping; he couldn't believe what was going on, which was understandable, since Digital Versatile Discs rarely ever change content on their own.

Could it be some elaborate prank, Basil perhaps? Or maybe it was some college kid he had humiliated and was looking for payback.

No, it was impossible; he knew it was his voice. And the doorman wouldn't let anyone through the door that didn't belong, much less his apartment.

His words were changing, the gibberish he had uttered had turned into the phrases,"I'm a male chauvinist pig and I'm a cold hearted bastard..."

He also remembered the appearance of a scar on his cheek on film the same time he had cut himself shaving, a cut that had been healed and faded away by morning.

It was impossible, he thought. Suddenly, he remembered what had taken place that afternoon last week, when he had expressed his desire to forfeit his soul in exchange for his filmic self enduring what time would have normally inflict upon his reel self.

Could it have come true? Could there some force of darkness that was listening to his prayer and granted him what he had desired?

There was one easy way to find out, he focused on his visage displayed on screen, focusing n every feature, curve and hair. He then went to the bathroom and produced a straight razor; he sliced his jaw to scar himself noticeably. He may end up to been mistaken and scared, but then his mind would be at ease.

Pressing his palm to keep blood from dripping to the floor he went to the TV screen.

"Nothing," he said as he looked at the screen and saw only the one scar, "Thank...Oh God!"

Before his eyes, a scar started to form on his on-screen jaw, while the one on his actual jaw which was beginning to heel instantly. He ran to a mirror to see that the cut had sealed and it looked like it happened two days ago, at this rate the wound would disappear within hours.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Some sleeping pills and nine hours later, Dorian woke up to look at his reflection, the scar was gone.

The first thing he did was taking out the DVD and placing it in a cabinet he rarely opened. He then spent the next hour clearing a walk in closet in the hall, he then went out and bought a small TV and a DVD player which he installed in the closet, put a chair in and put in the disc.

He couldn't resist sitting on the chair inside the closet and watching the it again, full with awe at the miracle that filled him with question. Like: Did he stop aging? Will he look like this forever? Could he even be killed? The possibilities were endless.

He got out of the closet and locked it behind him and hooked the key onto his key chain. The whole thing filled him with a sudden lust for life, and speaking of lust, he remembered he had a date with Mina tonight.

He got dressed and dashed out with a wide smile, ready to suck the marrow out of life.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jekyll who was slightly hung-over dropped off Nemo and Alan, who were very hung-over and had spent the night at their place at Verne-Haggard Hall, while Skinner stayed home, as he was still drunk.

As Jekyll drove back in Skinner's car, he spotted a girl walking alone, looking completely disheveled.

He slowed down for a closer look; it was Sybil, whom he only knew as Dorian's girlfriend. She obviously looked like she had spent the whole night out, crying and walking aimlessly.

Jekyll rolled down the window and called, "Miss... Miss... Sybil."

She looked at him with sad apathy and said nothing.

"Are you Okay?"

She walked and didn't answer.

"Are you alright?"

She walked and didn't answer.

"Do you need a lift?"

She walked and didn't answer.

"Oh, for God's sake!"

Jekyll hit the gas to advance for a little distance, then stopped and got out of the car.

"It's freezing," said Jekyll as he stood in Sybil's way, "You look like a Zombie, please get in m car and let me take you home."

Jekyll was still dizzy from the drinking to not realize that he was acting like a would be attacker, and that she knew absolutely nothing of him. But never the less she obliged and got into the passengers seat.

Sybil told him where she lived and he started driving silently.

Jekyll wasn't a fan of gossip, but he was really curious to find out what was going on. He couldn't help but feel sympathy for the tragic beauty sitting at his side.

"Would you like some breakfast? Are you by any chance hungry"  
"Yes." she said in a whimper as she was fighting back a flood of tears.

---------------------------------

Jekyll took a sip of tea as Sybil held a cup of coffee in her hand, having barely touched it.

"Have you ever been in love, that you couldn't remember or imagine life without it"  
"Can't say that I have." said Jekyll.  
"I did, and he chucked it all away for some tall girl with hair like carrots."

Jekyll could easily deduce she was talking about Mina.

"Who are you?" asked Sybil as she suddenly realized she was discussing her love life with a perfect stranger.  
"My name is Henry, I'm a friend of Lucy Westenra." said Jekyll, lying about the last part because he didn't want to scare her away.  
"What am I going to do? How can I live without him? Do you think we still have a chance?"

"Look Sybil, maybe this isn't as bad as you think. I'm not a fan of clichés, but this isn't the end of the world. You'll think it cans till be fixed, you'll try to give something's up for him, you'll be mad at him, you'll morn loosing him, but then you'll accept it all and get over it. Pardon me if I'm not tactful, but it's not as bad as you think."

"I want to go home."

Jekyll realized he couldn't do more, so he paid the check and escorted her out and drove her to her apartment.

------------------

Several hours later, Sybil cut her wrists as she lay on her bed, surrounded by pictures of her and Dorian, love letters he wrote her, she wore jewelry that he had given her. She lay on the bed with a mad smile on her lips, as her veins pumped the blood out of her cuts, she died within an hour. 


	9. Henry and Irene's Argument

He heh he. :-) Sorry about the mix up, here's chapter nine. Keep the reviews coming.

* * *

The Second week of college started off badly for Jekyll and Dorian, both had to cut all Monday lectures to be questioned by the police since they were the less people to see Sybil Vane, who had committed suicide by slitting her wrists on Sunday night.

On Tuesday, Dorian joined the newly created group of friends, as Mina invited him along, thinking he needed company at this time.

"What's he doing here?" asked Jekyll as he joined them in the cafeteria, looking antagonistically at Dorian.  
"It's not Dorian's fault, he needs company." Mina said, defending her boyfriend.  
"I'll tell you what he needs"  
"Jekyll, come on!" said Skinner, "Dorian has frankly more going through his mind than you do."

Jekyll felt something stirring in him, he felt like telling Mina that Dorian was paying men to accost his girlfriend so that he could approach her, he felt like reaching across the table and burying his fist into Dorian's nose. As he felt the emotions building up, he stood up and walked away as the migraine started.

* * *

Jekyll's migraine had ended as he lay on a couch in his apartment, yet it seemed like another one could begin as someone was knocking on the door profusely.

"Skinner, I don't care if you lost your keys, you can sleep out tonight."

The knocking continued, so he went and opened the door. In the doorway stood a girl as old as he, she had long wavy blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes, she slightly on the short side and wore a short skirt with a white sweater and a pair of black leather boots.

"Who are you?" he asked as he looked her up and down.  
"'Who are you?'? Is that how you answer the door?" she responded.  
"Excuse me, Miss! But Who the HELL are you"  
"I'm a friend of Dorian's. How dare you, make such accusations of him"  
"Somebody has to tell that brat that he just doesn't go around hurting people like that and get away with it"  
"Oh, so you're Sybil's best friend, are you? Did you get to know each other in the one morning when you met"  
"You should have seen her, she was"  
"I know Sybil well, Mister Jekyll. Dorian tried breaking it off several times, but he'd get back with her to spare her feelings"  
"Then what's changed this time"  
"This time he found some he actually cares about, whom he might even love one day; Mina"  
"And I assume you're a friend of Mina as well"  
"Actually, No"  
"Well I am a friend of hers, and I don't want to see her end up like Sybil"  
"Can we continue this inside?" asked the girl as she pushed Henry aside and walked in.

"Oh, please," said Jekyll with a roll of the eyes and closed the door, "Make your self at home"  
"No thanks. Aren't you too old to still have dreams of rock and roll stardom?" asked the girl as she gestured at the guitars and drum set on which Ricevenom would practice.

"Isn't Dorian too old to send his mother to fight his battles"  
"Dorian doesn't know I'm here, and I would appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut about it"  
"Oh, well then in that case, I won't"  
"Look, I'm not hoping to convince you of anything, I'm just here to tell you what a holier-than-thou royal prick you are"  
"Look, missy, I want you out"  
"Oh, I'm not done with you yet"  
"OUT"  
"MAKE ME!"

Jekyll's blood was boiling, he was both pleased and enraged, for he did enjoy an occasional heated argument, he was also attracted to the mysterious girl with a tongue of fire.

"Don't think I won't." said Jekyll as he went to grab the girl by the shoulder, but she caught his hand and twisted it in a painful martial arts maneuver.

"Will you listen?"

Jekyll was in pain, but wouldn't give in. He twisted his torso to relieve himself of her hold and get out of her grasp.

"Listen, Missy"  
"Missy? You keep throwing that word around, you must have a very limited vocabulary"  
"Look, you're crazy. Crazy as a cave full of hyenas inhaling cannabis. You've come here without as much as an introduction and get involved in a private matter, then you refuse to leave. What will it take me to get out of here"  
"I need you to listen and keep quiet. I know it's difficult for you, but try, will you, Mr. Jekyll?"

"Alright, if that's what it'll take then speak." said Jekyll as he sat on the sofa.  
"I can't force you to like Dorian, or to think otherwise about his hand or lack thereof in the unfortunate fate if Sybil, god rest her soul. However, should you do anything to hurt his chances with Mina, then you'll have to deal with me, HEY, don't roll your eyes. If you do anything that'll lead directly or indirectly towards irreparable damage to Mina and Dorian's relationship, then I'll come after you. Don't let my five foot-one inch exterior fool you, I can make your life a living Hell."

The girl then turned around and stomped off, leaving Henry sitting behind wondering what the hell just happened.

"Wait!" he called as he stood up from his chair, she turned around to look at him.

"Didn't I make my self clear?" she asked.  
"Oh, you made your self clear ever so dangerously. But you didn't say your name"  
"And why should I"  
"Well, you barged into my apartment, twisted my arm and yelled at me like mad. I've earned knowing it"  
"My name"  
"Yes, YOUR name. They gave you one as a baby, didn't they"  
"Yes, they did. It's Irene, Irene Gray"  
"Jesus Christ, you ARE Dorian's mother"  
"Cousin, now goodbye."

She started to walk away, a sight that pleased Jekyll in some aspects but he didn't really was interested in happening yet.

"Hey, I'm not done." he said.  
"What now"  
"What If I have a bone to pick with you, how do I reach you"  
"You don't. You don't tell me what to do, I tell YOU what to do"  
"No problem, All I have to do is tell Mina about what happened at Lucy Westernra's party and you'll show at me doorstep for round two. But you wouldn't want that, would you"  
"Are you asking for my number"  
"What If I am"  
"If you were, then I'd assume you want to ask me, like, out on a date or somethin"  
"And how awful would that be"  
"Umm, not too awful. Provided you shaved, bathed, dressed like a med student instead of a teenager, and kept speaking to a minimum"  
"Alright, then; Fork it over."

"'Fork it over'?" asked Irene, "Seriously, do you kiss your mother with that mouth"  
"Ugh, fine! Your Royal Highness, Miss Irene Gray. Will you bestow me with the honor of the series of digits which I may use to contact you using that contraption invented by that great Briton; Alexander Bell, known as a telephone."

This time Irene rolled her eyes as she scribbled down her number on a piece of paper and dropped it on the stairs.

"Oh, real mature!" said Jekyll.  
"If you call and I don't answer, than that eithe rmeans that I'm not at home or that I got caller ID."

Irene then sprinted down the stairs, leaving loud sounds of her heels slamming into the wooden steps as well as a smell of her perfume in her wake.

"Little nutt!" said Jekyll to himself as he walked down the stairs to get to the scrap of paper. As he held it in his hand, he contemplated burning it and then going and ruining things for Dorian and Mina anyway, but to be frank, screwing Dorian over wasn't his main fixation at the moment. He suddenly found himself missing Irene immensly, craving being in her presence again and arguing with her again. What the hell was wrong with him?


	10. The Birth of Edward Hyde

As soon as Jekyll returned to the apartment, the migraines returned, he collapsed to the floor and curled into the fetal position and winced violently as the pain overcame him and he cried in pain for the better part of an hour, hoping no one heard him. 

"Let me out, you worm"  
"Fuck you, Edward! You can't force me into anything, you're but a though in my head"  
"Or are you in mine?"

The episode soon passed and he was left on the floor panting with a slight dizziness still in him, he got and walked with trembling feet to the fridge to have a drink of water.

This marked his second episode of the day, and his fifth in only ten days. A short while ago, he would have one or two in a month. His condition was worsening.

He'd been like this for a long time. During his childhood, he started to develop signs of advanced intelligence for his age. Once he was tested it was learned that he had an IQ matched by Nobel Prize winners. But that wasn't all of it, after further testing it was discovered that his intelligence was due to an abnormality in his brain that had also caused him to have frequent horrible headaches as well as mild narcolepsy.

His mother cried when they told her that his condition would worsen as he lived on and was not likely to see the age of twenty five unless there was some major breakthrough in medicine.

His father, seeking to postpone the inevitable forced him to abandon all the pleasures enjoyed by his peers, raised him in a staunchly conservative environment. His upbringing caused him to be extremely thirsty to satisfy his urges, as well as embed great rage and resentment in him, directed at the world and all that lived in it, all those who would enjoy simple pleasures and those who would live long lives. It all cased considerable effects to his mentality.

He'd been medicated for all these years to retard the migraines to a degree, but the combination of his medication and his mentality caused further something else; Multiple Personality Disorder. He had developed an alternate personality called Edward, he became the outlet through which he expressed the desires and thoughts of his sub-consciousness.

Again, he was treated, the Doctors concluded that the Edward persona was another side effect of his condition. His condition became stable after that and slightly better, he would have occasional episodes once or twice a month, characterized by an onslaught of migraines which occasionally would end in the Edward persona taking over.

When Jekyll graduated high school, his mother had been dead for some time and his father was in the hospital. That night he had an episode and Edward took over, he went to his father and taunted the man as the man lay dying, Edward told the man exactly what he though of him, and taunted him in his bed ridden condition till he had a stroke, Edward had also disconnected the nurse's alarm to make sure they weren't interrupted.

Jekyll inherited the family fortune, he chose to pursue a career in medicine in hope of finding some sort of cure one day. Out of shame, he started to pretend that Edward was an entirely separate individual, his deceased twin brother to be exact.

He had won a scholarship to a number of prominent universities including Gull, with the money he had he purchased the equipment he needed and set up a lab in his apartment where he started his research two years ago.

He made a breakthrough two months ago and had been running tests ever since, if he was right, he would be rid of the migraines, the abnormality would be cured and he'd live a normal life span and he would retard the level of Edward's consciousness, but if he was wrong, he would end up dying a slow painful death. He'd been putting it off for two months, fooling himself by proofing the equation, and working the kinks out., even though he knew full well that he had reached it, whatever the effect would be, a cure or death.

He took another sip of water than walked to the lab where his whole work was being kept, the room that had fueled Utterson and Skinner's curiosity for a long while.

He unlocked the several locks and walked in, turned on the lights and took the tube of formula he had prepared days ago.

He put the contents into a syringe. "Unless I do something I'll very likely die soon." he said to himself, and then he plunged it into his veins.

There was nothing at first except the pain from the needle in his arms, he awaited for seconds expecting anything instead of nothing, then realized that the past two years were just a waste of time.

As he pulled the syringe out, he felt a sudden coldness surrounding him, indicating that it might still work, hope and fear filled Jekyll as he felt a shiver run down his spine. And then the fear and hope were gone, and replaced by unbridled, unimaginable pain that filed his every fiber from head to tow.

* * *

The aching stopped, and Jekyll was able to gather up some strength and push the floor to stand up.

Jekyll instantly knew something was different, his clothes were suddenly too loose, he was looking everything from a new angle, as if though he was standing on a lower level than he normally would, he also felt different, he felt a sudden darkness in him, an overwhelming thirst to satisfy all his impulses, it was like what he felt when Edward took over taken to an extreme.

He walked out of the lab, looking carefully to see if Skinner was there, then walked into the bathroom and locked the doors.

"My God, what have I become?"

Jekyll was looking into the mirror and marveling at how he had changed. His body had grown shorter, shrinking from his normal six feet inches to about five-seven, yet was more muscular and powerful. His features had grown harder and thicker, and had a general primal look to them, his hair had went from Red to Blonde.

The changed man then started to worry, this was not the change he expected, he wondered if he was trapped in this form forever or if he could somehow reverse it by having another shot, then wondered if this was all really happening or if he had accidentally created a very powerful hallucinogen.

Jekyll stepped out of the bathroom and took a picture of himself with a digital camera, then walked into the kitchen as he felt sudden hunger. He sat on the floor next to the fridge and started practically shoveling food into his mouth to satisfy his ravenous hunger.

Jekyll got up and walked out into the hall, pressing a hand on his waist to keep his trousers from slipping off. Experiencing life through a new vassal was such a mind-blowing experience, standing in this cold apartment doing nothing at all was more exhilarating than fighting hordes of lions with your mind on LSD, more exhilarating than to make love to someone you cared about, more exhilarating than to be born. He may have not planned on this, but he was glad it happened, if he was able to reverse it, he'll definitely try returning to this body.

He hurried back to his lab and injected the serum, the pain was less severe this time, but grueling not the less. He got up minutes later to his old self.

Jekyll changed out of his sweat soaked clothes, checked his pupils to see if he was high or anything, then picked the camera up and looked at the picture he had taken minutes ago.

He could now see his other self from his normal perspective, and saw his other face freshly; it was not ugly or grotesque, nor was it handsome, the eyes were full of cruelty and the mouth had a shadow of a demonic grin. Generally, he wasn't pleasant looking and looked somewhat dangerous and frightening.

Henry deleted the picture then sat down to think clearly about how to deal with this situation.

Next he would take out his new body into the outside world and interact with others, he needed to make preparations for this new persona, it needed it's own wardrobe due to the size difference between the two egos, and it needed a name. The first though he had was the name Edward so he decided to use it, then he thought about a last name, he thought about Stevenson after the street he live on, then went to think about others, Hendrix? White? Sullivan? Hyde? Hyde was his mother's maiden name, he instantly thought it sounded good enough, he would be secretly know as Edward Hyde from now on.


	11. Autumn

The Days passed very quickly as he six friends grew closer as they experienced college life to its fullest.

Mina had fell in love with Dorian and imagined he was feeling the same about her, for her there was no other men in the world. She became regularly present in his apartment even though she still lived on campus with Lucy. One thin that continued to fuel her curiosity was the locked closet in his apartment which hid something he wished to keep private.

Dorian watched in amazement as his digital self started to change, developing manifestations of his sins in both his speech and his figure. He had developed a taste for narcotics, only the damage they caused was reflected onto the DVD and he was able to enjoy the rewards with nothing of the reprisals.

Jekyll managed to produce his drug in pill form and regularly began to assume the mantel of Edward Hyde and go out to wreak random havoc on London, his use of the drug resulted in a full recovery from his condition that completely baffled his physicians, He kept it all to himself. He also started dating Irene Gray, after they were done with all the name calling and settled their differences.

Alan and Skinner didn't do much besides date and subsequently sleep with a lot of girls, drink a lot and shoot things.

Gull University became the target of a Hacker Identified as The Pirate Captain N, officials believed him to be a group of former disgruntled professors out of payback, in reality it was none other than Nemo, who had taken an interest to Anarchy as a political ideal and expressed it in that manner.

------------------------

Mina and Henry were walking on campus on an Autumn afternoon, the campus was mostly empty during for it being the final Friday before the midsemester break, most students were back home with their families or had gone on some kind of trip.

"What are you planning for the holiday?" asked Mina, "Are you going to visit the family?"

"I'm an orphan, Mina." "Oh, sorry. I can't believe I don't already know that"  
"It's alright, It rarely comes up during conversation"  
"Well, I'm like you, I'm an orphan I mean, so is Dorian"  
"There you do, I didn't know either"  
"Okay, so were both orphans. What are you doing for the holiday, Orphan?"

Henry smiled.

"I think I'll just stay at home, hone my guitar skills. Maybe I'll invite Irene to stay with me"  
"What about Skinner"  
"I think he'll do the same"  
"Doesn't he have a family in Manchester"  
"He does, but both his parents are married to people he hates, and he hates his parents for it"  
"Well, Dorian and I are planning to take a trip to Cornwall, his family has an estate there"  
"He seems overly proud of the Gray family wealth." scoffed Jekyll as the two stopped to sit at a stone bench.  
"Come on, he's not like that. We just wanted to invite the rest of you to join us, the more the merrier you know"  
"I don't think so"  
"Come on, Nemo and Alan are already coming. It'll be better than sitting in a cold apartment playing with your guitar. Here comes Irene."

Irene Gray then arrived, she greeted both and then sat directly next to Henry.

"So, are you coming?" asked Irene.  
"Where"  
"Cornwall, stupid"  
"You know about Cornwall"  
"I've planned Cornwall, I mean the trip to it and not the city itself"  
"And you've only told me about it now"  
"Oh, poor you, knowing about the trip last of all. Are you going or not"  
"No, your royal highness, I'm not"  
"Good, you'll then be deprived of my company for four weeks"  
"Four weeks? It's a two week break"  
"Two extra weeks are a penalty to acting like this"  
"I can't go, someone has to keep Skinner company, or he'll do something stupid"  
"All I had to do to convince Rodney to go was tell him Lucy was going to be there." said Mina.  
"Lucy? Didn't those two idiots break up already?" asked Henry.  
"She's not really going." said Mina, "I'm just getting back at him for pulling that water balloon ambush two weeks ago"  
"Oh, yeah." said Henry with a smirk and a chuckle, "That was funny. Sorry. Alright, I'll go."

"There's a good boy." said Irene as she kissed Henry on the lips, "I knew you'd come around."

Henry responded generously to the kiss, the two inched closer as their lips locks and their eyes shut tight. It made Mina uncomfortable as she got up and walked away, saying "Jesus Christ! Get a room you degenerates!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jekyll and Skinner were locking down their apartment as they were about to hit the road, they were turning off the outlets, making sure all the windows were locked tight.

"Remind me again why didn't we all go together." asked Skinner.  
"The three headed monster known as Mina, Irene and Dorian had to go early to straighten the place up. Nemo and Alan might not come, they've got things to do. Let's hurry," said Jekyll as he picked up his bags, "I want to get there as soon as we can."

"I wouldn't call Irene as one of "monster", she barely hangs out with Dorian.  
"Well, that's "barely" too much, I'd be happy if they weren't connected at all"  
"Jesus, Henry! Do you still have that grudge against Dorian"  
"I don't have a grudge, I just think it's wise to avoid him like the plague"  
"Oh, that's much better. And don't you mean the four headed monster? Isn't Lucy coming"  
"Er, yeah, you're right."

The two students stuffed the bags into the boot and backseat of the car and sat in the front, with Skinner at the driver's seat and Jekyll next to him.

"'Ave you ever been on a road trip"  
"You mean like Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty? Can't say that I have"  
"Well we will!" said Skinner with glee as he pressed himself to Jekyll and raised a camera and hit the button, the flash came as a surprise for Jekyll.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" said Jekyll as he squinted.  
"Time for the road trip of the century to begin, this picture will be a testament to the amazingness of this trip"  
"We're going to Cornwall, not Syria, you knucklehead. Now drive." 


	12. Cornish Holiday

Jekyll felt his pocket to make sure the little bottle was there, the bottle than contained little pills which were red as blood, that could make him change physically and psychologically into Edward Hyde. He shot down all urges to swllow one and change, mostly because it wouldn't be a friggin secret then, would it? He wondered why did he bring the pills along, when he was supposed to be on his way to a weekend with his friends and girlfriend. He should have left it home, he'll flush them down the toilet as soon as possible.

Skinner yawned and exited the highway, they were both too tired to go on and decided to stop to spend the night at a motel before going the rest of the way in the morning.

Once they had gotten their rooms and turned in, Jekyll realized that although eh was tired, he couldn't sleep. Insomnia had struck and he realized that he couldn't sleep no matter what. He turned on the TV and turned down the sound but was too disgusted to watch what was being played at the moment, mainly infomercials and porn.

There was a pub next door, and there was a bottle of precious pills in his jacket pocket, he decided to go for it, and why not? He'd be gone in the morning, and he didn't get much chance to socialize as Hyde.

He took of his clothes in the bathroom and put on Hyde's then swllwed the pill, the pain was severe but not as horrible as it was when he first began using it, it seemed to become easier every time.

The blonde haired Hyde exited the bathroom, tip toeing as to not wake Skinner up and exiting the room.

Hyde smiled in glee as he walked to the pub, enjoying a cigarette along with the cold breeze. Once he was in, he assumed his seat as the bar and started ordering large quantities of beer and assorted spirits, he shouted along with the rest of the patrons and cursed as they did, something he would normally have seldom done and with purpose only when he was too upset, but now it was very natural to him.

It was nearly closing time finally, and he decided to spend the rest of the night doing something else, so he disrespectfully tossed a few bills at the bartender then got off the stool and went to exit.

As he walked he bumped into a massive man, and said, "Watch where you're going, arsehole!"

The man and his friends turned to Hyde who was tiny in comparison to them, around ten inches shorter.

"What did you say, Midget?"

The bar went silent, then burst laughing. It angered Hyde who felt like bashing heads till everyone was dead, as the laughter quieted down he repeated.

"I said 'Watch where you're going, you dumb fuck!"

The bar went silent as people wondered what was the stranger thinking, provoking those men who would probably think nothing of him twisting him in unusual ways.

"Are you looking for a fight, little man"  
"I doubt you can do provide more than an ass kissing."

This time the laughter was directed at the four men who dared Hyde to step outside to square off against them.

"Hey," yelled the bartender, "Take it outside or I call the cops"  
"Wherever is fine with me, Br-" said the man who bumped into Hyde, when the latter suddenly couldn't contain his lust for violence and grabbed a bottle of beer off the tray held by a passing waitress and hurled at him till it smashed on his face.

Hyde didn't feel rage or insult, he just charged at the other man and buried his shoulder into his gut, then turned to kick the third in the crotched before smashing a bottle on the fourth's head, the first man was getting up so he grabbed him by the shoulder and rammed him into the bar violently before going to viciously stomp on the other three, all the time yelling, "Do I look short to you now? You stupid bitches!"

Hyde growled almost like an animal in glee as every fiber of his being was filled with shear ecstasy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hyde managed to escape as the police was called and took the pill to turn back to Jekyll, he didn't even stop running as he transformed till he got back into his room where he changed back, got into bed and lay still, quivering with adrenaline rushing through his veins, waiting for Skinner to wake up so he could leave the place behind.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mina looked down at herself, the white satin robe she wore was low cut and allowed more cleavage to be seen than she normally would allow. The robe was also very thin and not without a slight transparency. Her flaming red locks of auburn hair were unusually curled and they flowed freely down her back and chest, her feet were bare.

She started looking around to see that she was in a corridor of an old castle, torches mounted on the wall made her see that clearly.

She could hear thunder from outside the castle and the sound of wind blowing fiercely as she started walking, watching the walls on her sides to see paintings and portraits of warrior in battle armor.

"I'm not in London anymore," she whispered to herself, "And I'm not in Cornwall either."

Oddly enough, she didn't say that in English which was the only language she spoke fluently, she instead spoke with in an Eastern European language with an authentic accent, something that wasn't important at the moment.

She suddenly found herself in an ample hall with a fireplace and a spiraling staircase by the wall, she stood before the fire to watch what was mounted on the wall above it; a shield with a family crest or code of arms, depicting a red dragon with some sort of old text around it, it wasn't in English but she could read it anyway.

She suddenly became aware that she wasn't alone, she turned around to see a tall muscular and bearded man with long black hair, his eyes were deep and powerful, he surrounded her with his arms and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

"Don't worry, my love, my sweet. We'll be together soon."

He spoke in that language as well, she couldn't help but smile and move closer for anpther kiss, baely noticing his eyes had gone blood red. Suddenyl, the fire exploded from the firplace, filling every square inch of the hall and...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mina sat up in her bed, covered in sweat, gasping for air.

She covered her eyes with her palms as she regained her composure, she looked at the alarm clock on the night stand to see it was three a.m., she was in Gray Manor in Cornwall, Dorian was asleep next to her. There was no fire, no ancient castle, no revealing robes, no brooding Europeans. It was all a dream, an odd dream. Somehow the man looked familiar, she was certain it had nothing to do with dejavue.

"What's wrong?" asked her boyfriend sleepily as he woke up and looked at her.

"I hade a nightmare, it was horrible." she said nervously.  
"Oh, come here." said Dorian as he wrapped his arms around her bare shoulders and gently pulled her down next to him, saying, "Don't worry, Baby, I'm here"  
"I know you are," said Mina as she succumbed to him and allowed him to cradle her in his flawless arms, "Don't leave me"  
"I won't." 


	13. At Gray Manor

"I can't believe you went along with her!" said Skinner as he closed the trunk of his car, upon arriving at Gray Manor and preparing to enter.  
"Sorry about that, I just didn't want you to be surprised"  
"I'm not surprised, I'm pissed! I can't believe Mina lied about Lucy coming here. Are you sure it's a hoax"  
"Certain."

"This means war!" said Skinner as he and Jekyll stood at the door and rang the bell, "Will you help me"  
"No"  
"Judas! I'll carry out my vendetta alone"  
"That's fascinating." said Jekyll as he rolled his eyes.

The door opened up to reveal a young butler, "May I help you, Gentlemen?" he asked.

"Yes, you may." said Jekyll, "We're friends of The Grays, Skinner and Jekyll"  
"I understand," said the butler, "My name is Francis. May I help you with your bags"  
"No, we're fine." said Skinner, "Where are the rest"  
"Mr. Gray and Ms. Murray have gone to town; Mr. Quatermin and Mr. Dakkar are in the Den."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as Francis said, Nemo and Alan were in the den playing billiards, much to the surprise of Jekyll and Skinner who thought they wouldn't arrive till the evening at the very least.

"Good to see you've come," said Alan, "I'll be with you as soon as I thrash Alan."

With that, Nemo shot the queue-ball into the eight-ball which was then forced into a corner pocket, ending the game with the victory going to Nemo.

"Dammit." cursed Alan as he laid a five pound bill on the table by Nemo.

"Do any of you fancy a game?" asked Nemo.  
"Yeah, I'll show you how grown men do it!" said Skinner as he rolled up his sleeves and grabbed a stick.  
"Bring it on, Manchester lad"  
"Did any of you see Irene?" asked Jekyll anxiously.

"Ooh, Jekyll is worried about his girlfriend!" taunted Skinner as he racked the balls.  
"Skinner, shut up!" said Alan.  
"You're not the boss of me, but I'll do just that."

Alan and Jekyll stepped out onto the porch where they stood and looked at the beautiful garden that surrounded Gray Manor.

"Where did everyone go?" asked Jekyll.  
"Mina and Dorian went to the town"  
"To do what"  
"Dorian is taking her for a shopping spree, or so I gather"  
"And Irene"  
"I don't know, she might have gone with them, perhaps to offer a second feminine opinion to Mina"  
"That's funny; I thought Dorian has enough femininity to go around."

Alan chuckled.

"Don't you ever suspect he's that kind of guy?" asked Jekyll, "The kind that drives on both sides of the road"  
"No, I don't think he's gay"  
"Well he takes Metrosexuality to a whole new level"  
"I can't believe you still have a grudge against Dorian"  
"I don't hate the guy, I like him; he's one of the mates as far as I'm concerned. It's just that I think Mina is one of the mates as well, and I don't want her to end up like Sybil."

"Henry," said Alan, "Sybil was a mentally unstable person, what she did couldn't be anticipated by anyone"  
"Well, I guess."

Alan looked hard at Jekyll, he knew very well about his feelings for Mina in the past, and perhaps they were in the present as well despite his involvement with Irene.

"So how are things with you and Irene?" asked Alan.  
"We're alright." said Jekyll after a beat.  
"I'm sensing a "But"  
"It's just that... This is all between me and you, right"  
"Of course"  
"Good. It's just that Irene and I have not been "  
"Oh! You mean you haven't had any sex yet!" said Alan louder than he should have.

"Bloody Hell, Alan! Why don't you put an add in the papers as well." hissed Jekyll.  
"Sorry. Why? I mean you've been dating for over a month. Is anyone a virgin or venerealy ill"  
"No, nothing like that. It's just that our first few dates ended in fights anbd us swearing never to meet each other anymore. Then after we hit it off, there was always something in the way, we were busy or someone - usually Skinner - was lurking around and here we are"  
"I see, so you think this might be the weekend"  
"Maybe"  
"You don't think this is why she's gone, do you"  
"What do you mean"  
"Maybe she doesn't want to do it"  
"I bed your pardon"  
"Oh, I'm sure that's not the case. Maybe after al this time, she's nervous what it'll be like. I mean did you exchange the 'L' word"  
"Lesbian?" asked Jekyll, "Jeez, she looks straight to me"  
"No, the OTHER 'L' word"  
"Oh! No, can't say that we have"  
"Is that the case? Do you love her"  
"I'm not sure, I'm standing her missing her and will shortly be obsessing where she is at. I think I might"  
"Well look, maybe she's just making sure she looks appealing tonight and had went to get something plucked or waxed or all of that masochistic rubbish"  
"What do you think I should do"  
"There's noting you can do." said Alan as he turned around and started to walk back into the den, "You can't hunt her down and drag her to your cave by the hair. Just relax and be patient."

Alan stopped in the doorway, turned around and smiled, "And if you do it tonight, jsut remember this advice; Lay back, and think of England."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Bridges, a realtor for one of the real-estate agencies in London was rather pleased of himself at the moment, he was in the process of finalizing a major deal in which a Romanian Millionaire gained ownership to a lavish building and his firm gained a great deal f money.

He was still uneasy though, the Millionaire was very eccentric to say the least, which wasn't a rarity of millionaires as we all know, it's just that this particular one was frighteningly so; he dressed in a gothic stile, almost like a gypsy, had a ponytail of long silky pitch black hair and his skin was very pale, and his eyes were always covered by a pair of dark sunglasses. Physically, he was tall and thin, yet he was athletic.

"Mr. Tapesh." he called after the Romanian who stood at the window unflinchingly, looking at the sun as it sank below the horizon. He turned to him ever so slowly, as if he had all the time in the world.

"I... I just need your Signature." said Bridges nervously.

Vlad Tapesh walked over to him, bowed down with grace and signed his name on the required space.

"Congratulations, Mr. Tapesh. You are now in your new home, we hope you enjoy London"  
"I'm sure I will."

Even his voice was ominous and powerful, befitting the devil himself. A nervous Mr. Bridges extended his hand for a handshake before getting out.

Bridges felt a chill as the extremely cold, pail finger of the Romanian which were adorned with expensive rings wrapped around his hand and shook his hand in the firmest handshake imaginable. The handshake seemed to last longer than Bridges had wanted, when Tapesh let go of his hand he backed away, smiled politely then went to leave.

Tapesh had some odd company as well, his entourage consisted of several well built men who looked like gypsies, and just as he was leaving, he could see three absolutely vivacious, appealing pale women surrounding Tapesh and touching him suggestively, silently inviting him into some sort of group romp.

"Bloody Europeans..." said Bridges as he got into the elevator and pressed the button leading to the ground floor, he was very happy to be leaving, the whole lot of them had stirred fear in him, fear so severe that he even wished to throw away the Romanian's handsome check.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon after Alan and Henry's conversation, Mina and Gray got back. In the evening the Waverly sisters arrived, who were three daughters of a family that was ancient friends of the Grays. The Nine had dinner and socialized afterwards, at first, two of the Waverly sisters were interested in Henry, and only stopped making advances after Dorian informed them that he was involved with Irene, which didn't really mater to them at first but they switched their attention to Alan, Nemo and Skinner after Henry ignored all of them, almost to the point of rudeness.

Jekyll walked up the stairs to his room, leaving the loud sound of socializing behind him, slightly upset for being stood up by Irene which was no where to be seen and was reported by Dorian to be visiting her aunt on her mother's side.

Upon opening the lights, Henry couldn't help but raise his pair of eyebrows at how Dorian had awarded him with a very comfortable room, 'at least he is hospitable' he thought.

He walked into the bathroom and with some hesitation, poured all the red pills into the toilet and flushed it, feeling a little guilty afterward. He washed his face and freshened up, then stepped back into his room to turn in.

"Irene..."

She was standing in the doorway, unusually smiling contently.

"I thought you were at your Aunt's, not that I don't appreciate the change of heart." said Jekyll nervously, but he wouldn't get a response.

Irene took of her glasses and placed them on a cabinet, then stepped out of her high heeled shoes then walked to him, pulling off the band off her hair, so her wavy long locks of blonde hair dropped down to surround her face as she stood less than a foot away from him.

Henry felt he was seeing another side of Irene for once, the warm, gentle, loving Angelic Irene, rather than the cynical, strong minded woman she was otherwise. She looked so beautiful at the moment as she stood before him, an entire foot shorter than he forced her to have to look up at a sharp angle so that her pair of bright blue eyes could meet his, the waterfall of blonde hair only added to her appeal.

He leaned down a bit and she raised herself on her toes and their lips met for an overdue kiss that sent waves pf heat through both of them, awakening smoldering urges in both.

"All around you," she said, "Listen closely, look intently. What can you feel?"

He knew exactly what she meant, "I see you, I see no roommates, no friends, no relatives; no excuses to deprive ourselves any longer."

"There's a good boy," she said with a pat on his head like she often did, "My Hero"  
"Your Hero, eh?" said Jekyll with a laugh, "That's the first time anyone ever called me that, my lady"  
"Oh, I'm no lady." said Irene coyly, "I'll show you."

Jekyll really didn't need to be prodded anymore than that, they kissed against, even more passionately; they started to perspire when they parted, their bodies longing for each other.

"I love you, Henry."

Jekyll's heart skipped a beat as he heard that, he'd never imagined what great joy hearing those three syllables would do to him, and right there he knew.

"I love you, Irene." 


	14. We're Back in London

_Sorry for the delay guys, after the last chapter there was supposed to be two chapters set during the vacation in Cornwall but I couldn't come up with anything interesting. Suffic to say that while in Cornwall, Irene and Jekyll slept togeather._

* * *

The break was almost over and so the friends had to return to London, invigorated and ready to face the stressful college life they led. Nemo, Alan and Skinner returned by car while Jekyll was persuaded by Irene into flying back with her and Mina and Dorian.

At arrival, each parted to do something by himself. Dorian went straight to his apartment to make preparations for Mina moving in with him, but first he had to satisfy his obsession. The closet awaited him, he'd been anticipating this all the time when he was in Cornwall, and he would have taken the DVD if he could but didn't want to risk anybody knowing anything.

Assuming his seat in the ample closet he turned on the DVD player and watched as Basil's skillfully shot film started playing, his on screen face was still cut and his face had became thin and somewhat aged, which would have been the case for him due to his hyperactivity since he discovered this gift, he'd been sleeping only a few hours a night and had given into high consumption of strong alchohal and narcotics.

The On-screen Dorian started to talk, saying, "My names is Dorian Gray, I am a male chauvinist pig, and I'm a cold hearted bastard. I'm a degenerate cad and I have no sympathy or concern for any cause other than my carnal delight. I am a killer."

It was strange watching it, it laid down everything he wanted to ignore about himself, he didn't enjoy watching it, yet relished in it. He would latter feel utter spiritual bliss.

The doorbell rang once then twice briefly, it was Basil's Signature ring, he closed the DVD and TV and locked the closet then went to open the door for the young filmmaker to enter.

"Dorian!" said Basil cheerfully as he waved a cigarette and pulled Dorian into a one armed embrace.

"Basil." said Dorian with a smile, "Fancy a drink?"  
"Of course!"

Basil sat on Dorian's expensive Italian couch as Dorian started preparing the drinks.

"I won't be too proud to say that I've missed you, Dorian." said Basil as Dorian handed him his beverage.  
"The sentiment is returned, where did you go again?"  
"Belgium, I was attending a special seminar in ol' Brux for the past three weeks. And you, what have you been up to during mid-semester break?"  
"I asked Mina to move in with me."  
"Really? Good god, Congratulations... I'm glad you're in a relationship again. How?"

"I went to Cornwall with Mina and some friends, and that was where it happened"  
"Not much of a romantic getaway, I'll bet you were press ganged."  
"Well, they are good friends and I am more or less fond of them, but yes, I would have preferred if it was just the two of us."  
"Those friends, Anyone I know?"  
"Oh, there was Irene my cousin and her boyfriend Jekyll and his roommate and that Nemo, the Indian computer prodigy and Alan Quatermain."  
"Oh yes, I met them at the funeral."

There was a sudden awkwardness as the bitter subject of Sybil was unintentionally tapped.

"Yes... " said Dorian, "I wouldn't have known."  
"I'll have to say that I was surprised not to see you there."  
"I didn't think I would have been welcomed. You're forgetting that Sybil killed herself in the ruins of our relationship."  
"I understand. Still, you should have went, It was sad to see so little there, just myself and her mother, your friends and some of Sybil's acting partners."  
"How is her mother?" asked Dorian without real concern.  
"Barely surviving, I heard her brother who is a merchant sailor has just came back. Well enough about that, how do you feel about lunch?"

* * *

Skinner finished dropping Nemo and Alan at their Dorm then started driving to his and Jekyll's flat, when suddenly he started thinking about the beginning of the semester when he was first introduced to Jekyll by Utterson when he needed a flat, how he was on the verge of begging his eccentric cousin to let him sleep on his couch.

Skinner didn't feel especially fond of either side of his family more than he was obligated to feel, but he felt tempted to check up on old Hawley, just for the sake of being slightly connected.

He was shortly knocking on the door of the apartment which had a strange smell coming from it, a smell that was neither usual nor vile.

"Who is it?" asked an angry voice.  
"It's Rodney, Rodney Skinner; your cousin."

Skinner stood in place as he heard footsteps come to open the door for him.

Hawley Griffin was his name, he was Rodney's mother's brother's son, a brilliant bue rude a dn somewhat megalomaniac University Student who had already finished his Bachelors Certificate in Advanced Physics and was conducting his own research despite being only two years older than Skinner.

Hawley opened the door suspiciously, saying, "Hello, Rodney. Can I help you with something?"  
"No, I'm just here on a social visit."  
"Come in."

Rodney stepped into the apartment as Hawley slid several locks and latches back into place, strangely cautious he was.

Skinner looked all over the apartment, it was cluttered and messy, with dirty dishes everywhere, spilled drink stains all over the carpet and lots of dust on every imaginable surface. There was a big table set up in the middle of the living room which had beakers and chemical instruments set up on it.

"I know an excellent cleaning lady if you're interested."  
"No, thank you, Rodney. Would you want a Pepsi or some soft drink?"  
"That would be nice."

Hawley disappeared into the kitchen as Rodney sat in the cleanest spot of the couch he could find, noticing a small bowl with partially consumed cat food in it under the table.

Hawley returned with a two cans of Pepsi, he handed one to Skinner and opened the other for himself.

"How's the research going?" asked Skinner for the sake of small talk.  
"You know about my research?" asked Hawley abruptly.  
"I know you're doing some sort of research about particle alignment or something like that, I don't know what it is exactly."  
"Oh, yes, It's going just fine." said Hawley who appeared to be not too eager to expose anything, "I've had a brake through recently, as a matter of fact. I doubt you'd find it interesting."

"If you say so." said Skinner, who didn't want to listen to a science lecture, "Where did the cat go?"  
"What? Did you see my cat? How could you have seen it?!" asked Hawley with wide eyes.

"I didn't see it. I did see the cat food though." said Skinner who was growing more and more uncomfortable with his cousin's erratic behavior.

"Oh, thank god!" said Hawley.  
"Are you alright, Hawley?"  
"I'm alright, I'm great, I truly am Great!"

Skinner had had enough by this point so he stood up and laid down the can of Pepsi on the table, "Well, I must be off, I'm glad we had this chance to catch up, let's do it again some time, good bye."

While Skinner was saying that he was unlocking the door, then practically jumping into the hallway and hurrying out of the building.

"Jesus Christ, what a fruitcake!"

* * *

Mina was walking on clouds as she walked through the vacant corridors of the Stoker Building as she headed to her and Lucy's room.

She was extremely happy, in twenty for hours she would be living with the ever handsome, suave and charming Dorian Gray, the true love of her life, the only man she loved besides Jonathan, except she knew (or felt) that unlike Jonathan, Dorian would never break her heart and leave her to work in a foreign country. He was hers and hers alone, they were soul-mates.

She pushed aside those naive thoughts as she started to think about telling Lucy all about it, she wondered if Lucy would take it too hard? No, Lucy was her best friend and she'll feel happy for her, she'll give her a helping hand tomorrow when she'll pack her things to move into Doran's Soho apartment.

People often expressed wonder at how Lucy who was a very independent and perhaps promiscuous young woman could be a friend of Mina who was somewhat prudish and naive when it came to men. But they're friendship was based on things much deeper which they shared,

She finally reached the door and went to unlock it with her key. She hadn't heard from Lucy since she left to Cornwall, every time she called she didn't answer, which meant she was either out or too "busy" to answer. Mina reckoned she was probably with some new boyfriend.

Mina pushed the door open and hit the switch, as light filled the room, she took one look around before screaming bloody murder and collapsing to the floor.

Lucy's dead body lay on her bed, dressed in a low cut white flowing night gown, her expression was calm, two puncture wounds were on her jugular, blood had shot out of them and splattered all over the wall.


End file.
